God of War Ragnarök is one of the most anticipated games of this early generation of the PS5. But many questions remain unanswered about the exclusive PlayStation title: when will it be released, can we play it on PS4, what are the gameplay developments and what is its plot? Questions that we try to answer in this summary.
Released in 2018, god of war was one of the PS4’s biggest hits. The title has won an incredible number of awards (including the Game of the Year at The Game Awards) and was able to reconcile the players with the license thanks to a revival instilled by the developers of Santa Monica Studios. Players are now eagerly awaiting the continuation of Kratos’ adventures.
? When is God of War Ragnarok coming out?
The release date of God of War Ragnarok had been teased by Sony in the fall of 2020, which then suggested that the game would be available in 2021. But God of War Ragnarok was finally postponed to 2022, Sony recently communicated, which explains its choice by the desire to deliver a game as refined as possible, without exhausting the development teams and resorting to crunch.
While we thought that the release of the title would be postponed to 2023, Sony has just confirmed the good news this Wednesday, July 6, 2022. Yes, God of War Ragnarok will land on PS4 and PS5 from November 9, 2022. For the occasion, the manufacturer has unveiled a new live trailer of the title.
In addition, the Japanese brand and the Santa Monica studio presented the different editions of the game. Apart from the traditional Classic (physical) and Deluxe Edition (digital) versions, it will be possible to opt for two Collector’s Editions available in limited quantities.
If you are curious, an unboxing video of the Collector and Jötnar editions is also visible below. Each of them will contain a code to download the game in its digital version. Re the ultimate Jötnar editionyou can find:
- a printed voucher code for the full game on PS4 and PS5
- A 7″ vinyl record including two tracks from the soundtrack produced by Bear McCreary
- A set including pins of Falco, Bear and Wolf representing respectively Faye, Karts and Atreus
- The legendary ring of Draupnir, a Norse mythological ring, delivered in a red cloth bag
- The Brok dice game with a metallic silver finish with blue details
- A cloth map of Yggdrasil, which depicts each of the nine realms of Midgard within the branches and roots of the world tree of Yggdrasil
- A Steelbook presentation box without the game disc
- A 5cm sculpture of the Vanes twins
- A 40cm replica of Thor’s hammer Mjölnir
- Digital items like the Darkdale outfit for Kratos and Atreus, the Darkdale Blade hilt for the Blades of Chaos and the Leviathan Axe, the game’s official digital soundtrack, a mini Dark Horse digital art book, a set of avatars, and a dynamic theme for PS4
- Everything is contained in a sublime box representing the fresco of the Keeper of Knowledge, which is one of the triptychs observable in the first God of War
Note that pre-orders for the various editions of God of War will be open from July 15, 2022 at 10 a.m. We will have to wait a little to know the prices of these different editions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgPdtbSkL_s
? Is God of War Ragnarok available on PS4?
“We believe in generations”, Jim Ryan said a year ago, before the launch of the PS5. He then explained that, very quickly, first party PlayStation titles would only be released on PS5, since these would be designed in such a way as to benefit from new functionalities and better performance than the older generations cannot bring. A communication that went against the ideology of Xbox, which promised for its part that the titles developed by its studios would be released on Xbox One and Xbox Series for at least two years.
Sony had also announced in September 2020 that God of War Ragnarok would be a PS5 exclusive. To contradict himself 9 months later, since it’s official, God of War Ragnarok will be released on PS4 and not just on PS5. The Japanese manufacturer justifies itself by stating that it could not afford to abandon a fleet of 110 million PS4s, whether from the point of view of players, while the PS5 is still out of stock, or from the point of view from an economic point of view for Sony, which would sell far fewer copies of the game if it remained a PS5 exclusive.
Sony will have no room for error, and the version for PS4 and PS4 Pro will have to be optimized with small onions to avoid user criticism and anger. The Japanese publisher cannot afford to release a God of War Ragnarok that would turn out badly on PS4, while it still refuses to sell the PS4 version of Cyberpunk 2077 on its PlayStation Store because of the performance problems noted on the old gen.
? God of War Ragnarok gameplay and plot
What will God of War Ragnarok look like and what will be the gameplay experience? In all likelihood, the gameplay of the 2018 opus will be largely resumed. It can be assumed that some aspects will obviously be improved. We will therefore not be faced with a major upheaval in the saga, as the previous part did.
Regarding the scenario, the very first trailer of the game allowed us to learn more about this point. Yes, Kratos and his son Atreus are still hunted by Norse deities, especially bent on revenge after losing one of their own. The boy has visibly grown, suggesting that some time separates the two episodes. Still, we find familiar characters from the first opus like Mimir, the dwarfs Brokk and Sindri or even Freya, once the wife of Odin. And incidentally Baldur’s mother.
Let us also remember that in Norse mythology, Ragnarok refers to a doomsday prophecy, featuring a three-year sunless winter, natural disasters, and a great battle in which gods, valkyries, and monsters must clash. In fact, and as the name of the title indicates, the Nordic adventures of Kratos will end with this episode.
Indeed, Cory Barlog, producer of this opus, confirmed the thing during an interview on YouTube. According to him, two games are more than enough to conclude the story of Kratos and Atreus, and opting for a third game would have stretched the story too much and would have cost Santa Monica Studios too much time.
? God of War Ragnarok: trailers and trailers
After a long period of scarcity for players who had to settle for a simple teaser, Sony unveiled the first official trailer for God of War Ragnarok during a new State of Play this Thursday, September 9, 2021. As said more above, we find Kratos and Atreus still pursued by the gods.
If the trailer therefore allowed us to see some familiar faces, it also lifts the veil on new key characters such as the giant Tyr, or the formidable Thor and his hammer. In terms of gameplay, players will evolve on familiar ground, the Leviatan ax and the blades of Chaos always being in the game. There is, however, a certain unprecedented verticality in the fighting, since Kratos seems to have new abilities that allow him to send his opponents high in the air.
Regarding the environments, everything seems much more varied than on the first title. Which can be explained by the fact that father and son will have to travel through Odin’s various realms to find a way to prevent Ragnarok. The release of the title is still scheduled for PS5 and PS4 in 2022, at a date still unknown.
God of War 2018 is available on PS4 and many of you have already done so. If this is not the case, do not panic, there are several ways to access a catch-up session. If you have a PS5, the game will logically run on the Sony console. It even benefits graphics enhancements and is 4K/60fps compatible. The title is also included in the PS Plus Collection, which can be downloaded at no additional cost if you are a subscriber.
If you don’t have a PS5 yet, don’t panic. God of War arrives on PC in January 2022. It will therefore be possible to play Kratos on your machine. Sony has indeed made a habit of bringing its greatest hits to Steam for some time, which is not displeasing to us.